Add Points Like Crazy!

After Shangguan Yun and the others left the Li Family estate, they rode in silence.

Night lay heavy beyond the car window. Shangguan Yan sat in the back seat, clutching the Divorce Letter so tightly her knuckles had gone white.

"Dad, are we just going to let this go?"

Shangguan Yun said nothing. He kept driving, his face livid.

Shangguan Yan gritted her teeth. "That worthless Li Yao—what gives him the right? Who does he think he is?"

"Enough," Shangguan Yun said coldly. "We'll talk when we get home."

The car headed toward the Western Territory.

Three hours later, it stopped outside a sprawling mansion.

Shangguan Yun got out and strode inside.

Shangguan Yan and Qing Yinyin followed, neither daring to say another word.

Shangguan Yun reached the rear courtyard and stopped before a stone door.

He turned to Shangguan Yan and Qing Yinyin. "Go get some rest."

Qing Yinyin nodded and led Shangguan Yan away.

Only after they were out of sight did Shangguan Yun turn and push open the stone door.

Beyond it stretched a long passage. Night-Shining Pearls embedded in the walls cast a dim glow.

Shangguan Yun entered, and the stone door slowly closed behind him. A secret chamber waited at the end of the passage.

The chamber had no windows. A few oil lamps hung on the walls, their yellow light falling on two figures.

Two old men sat cross-legged, both white-haired and deeply wrinkled. They looked as though they had one foot in the grave.

But Shangguan Yun knew who they were. One was his father, Shangguan Nu; the other was Lin Chen of the Lin Family, a longtime friend of the Shangguan Family. Both were genuine Martial Emperor Realm powerhouses.

"Father. Uncle Lin."

Shangguan Yun bowed.

Shangguan Nu slowly opened his eyes. "How did it go?" he asked hoarsely.

"The marriage is dissolved," Shangguan Yun said. "We didn't make a spectacle of it, so no one knows."

Shangguan Nu grunted and looked at the old man opposite him. "Lin Chen, are you sure the information is true?"

Lin Chen opened his eyes too and met Shangguan Nu's gaze. "Brother Shangguan, do you think I'd joke about this?"

His voice was calm, but his certainty was unmistakable.

"My spy reports that Li Fuhai was gravely wounded in his last fight with the Demon Saint. He's at death's door. He won't live another three months."

A faint smile touched Shangguan Nu's lips. "Once Li Fuhai dies, only Li Zhiyun will be left. Together, we can kill him easily."

Lin Chen smiled faintly. "Which is why I said there's no need to rush."

Shangguan Yun's heart lurched.

"Father, are you saying... you intend to attack the Li Family?"

Shangguan Nu glanced at him with a hint of contempt. "What? Afraid?"

Shangguan Yun lowered his head. "The Li Family has protected the nation for three generations. If we act rashly, we may provoke public outrage."

"Public outrage?" Shangguan Nu sneered. "Once Li Fuhai is dead and Li Zhiyun falls, who will the Li Family have left? That worthless Li Yao?"

Shangguan Yun fell silent.

Lin Chen cut in. "Brother Shangguan, your grandchildren are still young. Don't let them get mixed up in this."

Shangguan Nu waved a hand. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

After a pause, he added, "But keep Li Fuhai's injury quiet for now. We'll act once his death is confirmed."

Shangguan Yun nodded. "Yes, Father."

Shangguan Nu turned back to Lin Chen. "Is your spy reliable?"

Lin Chen smiled. "Brother Shangguan, when have I ever acted without being sure?"

"My spy is one of Li Fuhai's trusted aides. He's been with him for twenty years. The information is absolutely reliable."

Shangguan Nu nodded and pressed no further.

"That's all. You can go," Shangguan Nu told Shangguan Yun. "Remember, don't mention what happened here to anyone."

"Yes, Father."

Shangguan Yun bowed and withdrew from the chamber. The stone door closed again, leaving only Shangguan Nu and Lin Chen inside.

Shangguan Nu closed his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

Lin Chen watched him. "What? Still have doubts?"

"No." Shangguan Nu opened his eyes. "It just feels a little too easy."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Lin Chen smiled. "Once Li Fuhai dies and Li Zhiyun falls, we'll take control of the leadership. Then the realm will belong to the Lin Family and the Shangguan Family."

Shangguan Nu said nothing for a while. Then he asked, "Old Lin, are you certain Li Fuhai won't live another three months?"

"Certain," Lin Chen said. "My spy says the Demon Saint pierced his Dantian in their last fight. His spiritual energy has been leaking away ever since. He's already fallen to the Martial King Realm."

"The Martial King Realm?" Shangguan Nu raised an eyebrow. "He used to be a Martial Saint."

"So what if he was?" Lin Chen sneered. "With his Dantian pierced and his spiritual energy draining away, surviving three months would be a miracle."

Shangguan Nu nodded and asked no more.

"All right. Get some rest. We'll discuss our next steps tomorrow."

Lin Chen grunted, closed his eyes, and resumed cultivating.

Shangguan Nu closed his eyes too, but the smile never left his lips.

Meanwhile, at the Li Family estate.

Li Yao sat cross-legged on his bed, Spiritual Qi circulating through his body as fine sweat beaded on his forehead.

He had cultivated for a full six hours without stopping since activating the technique.

"Ding! Host's cultivation progress: 5%."

At the system's prompt, Li Yao opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of stale air.

"Damn it, only 5%?"

He was speechless. Six hours of cultivation had raised it by just 4%. "Why is this Nine-Turn Profound Art so hard to cultivate?"

"Host, Heaven-Rank Cultivation Techniques are difficult to cultivate. We recommend practicing every day and building progress over time."

Li Yao curled his lip.

"Doesn't the system have a shortcut?"

"Yes, Host. You may spend Background Value to max out your progress in the Nine-Turn Profound Art."

"..."

Li Yao froze. Wait, I could cheat this whole time? Why didn't you say so earlier? You let me stay up all night cultivating?

"Hold on, system. If you could max it out, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"You didn't ask, Host."

The system sounded as if that were perfectly obvious.

Li Yao fought the urge to strangle it.

"Screw you, system."

"Host, this system has no one for you to screw."

"..."

Li Yao was at a loss. This system was as much of an artificial idiot as Doubao.

If there was a shortcut, only a fool would spend every night cultivating.

"System, max out my progress in the Nine-Turn Profound Art."

"Ding! Host, please confirm whether you wish to spend 95,000 Background Value to cultivate the Nine-Turn Profound Art."

"How much?!"

Li Yao nearly leaped up in fury.

"System, you're ripping me off! It cost only 50,000 Background Value to redeem it, but maxing out my progress costs nearly 100,000?"

"Please mind your language, Host. This system said 95,000. Our prices are fair to all."

"Isn't that 5,000 discount only because I cultivated the first 5% myself? You're a scam!"

"Ding! Host, you may also choose to raise your cultivation progress to 75% for now."

"You really won't stop until you've drained me dry, will you?"

"This system does not understand what the Host means."

Li Yao looked pained.

"Take me... to 75%, then..."

"Ding! Host has agreed. Cultivation commencing: 5%... 25%... 75%."

"Cultivation complete. Please check your progress, Host."

The instant the system's voice faded, Li Yao felt an indescribably profound power fill his entire body.

Li Yao quickly settled into a cross-legged position, absorbing the power as he began pushing toward a breakthrough.

Mid-stage Third Rank... late-stage Third Rank... Fourth Rank...

A Martial Master had nine tiers, each divided into early, middle, and late stages. Breaking through from the late stage took one to the next tier.

Li Yao's talent was top-notch. At his aptitude test five years ago, he had been found to possess a Heaven-Grade Spirit Root.

If he had devoted himself to cultivation, he might have become a Ninth Rank Martial Master by now, or even a Martial Venerable.

But instead of cultivating properly, he had obsessed over Yang Xiaoran. Not only had he given her every cultivation resource his family allotted him, he had also used his status as the legitimate heir to divert family resources to the Yang Family.

He had made no progress in three years.